1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to refrigerators, and more particularly, to a refrigerator door which can prevent vapor condensation thereon, and a refrigerator therewith.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, the refrigerator, an appliance for storing food at a low temperature, stores the food at a frozen state or a cold state depending on kinds of food. Cold air supplied to the refrigerator is produced by heat exchange action of refrigerant continuously as the refrigerant is compressed, condensed, expanded, and evaporated repeatedly, and the cold air supplied thus is delivered throughout an inside of the refrigerator uniformly by convection, to enable to store the food at a desired temperature.
A related art refrigerator will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is a body 10 of the refrigerator provided with a refrigerating chamber 20 for low temperature storage of food, and a freezing chamber 30 for frozen storage of food on an upper side and a lower side thereof, respectively.
The refrigerating chamber 20 and the freezing chamber 30, spaces independent from each other, have fronts to be opened, respectively. The fronts are opened/closed with doors 40, 50, and 60 selectively. In the doors 40, 50, and 60, there are upper doors 40, and 50 for opening/closing the refrigerating chamber 20 on the upper side of the body 10, and a lower door 60 for opening/closing the freezing chamber 30 on a lower side of the body 10.
The upper doors 40, and 50 are rotatably secured to a left and a right of the body 10, for selective opening/closing of a front of the refrigerating chamber 20. On fronts of bodies 41, and 51 of the upper door, there are upper door handles 42, and 52 for easy holding of the upper doors 40, and 50 by the user.
At facing ends of the left, and right doors 41, and 51, there are gaskets 45, and 55 provided thereto for preventing cold air from leaking from the body 10 of the refrigerator to an outside of the refrigerator.
The lower side of the front of the refrigerator body 10, i.e., the front of the freezing chamber 30 is opened/closed with the lower door 60, selectively. The lower door 60 slides in front/rear directions, to open/close the freezing chamber 30 selectively, and there is a lower door handle 62 on the upper side of a lower door body 61 for easy holding of the lower door 60 by the user.
In the meantime, referring to FIG. 2, in the refrigerating chamber 20, there are a variety of drawers, baskets, and shelves, and so on suitable to various kinds of food for low temperature storage of various kinds of food.
Temperatures varies even in the same refrigerating chamber 20 or the freezing chamber 30 depending on positions thereof, owing to the drawers, baskets, shelves, and so on which partitions the space, leading a cold air flow to be changed within the refrigerator body 10.
The upper doors 40, and 50, opening/closing the front of the refrigerating chamber 20, are hinged at outer edges of the body 10 for opening/closing the refrigerating chamber 20 in left/rights.
Moreover, in the refrigerating chamber 20, there are a plurality of baskets and shelves for storage of food requiring cold storage. On outer circumferences of the upper doors 40, and 50, there are gaskets 45, and 55.
The gaskets 45, and 55 are configured such that the gaskets 45, and 55 are in contact with the other so that the gaskets 45, and 55 can close a gap between the upper door bodies 41, and 51 when the upper door bodies 41, and 51 are closed. For effective closure of the gaskets 45, and 55, it is preferable that the gaskets 45, and 55 are formed of elastic rubber, or silicone, each with a little upward protrusion.
The left, and right upper doors 40, and 50 are identical.
However, the related art door has the following problems.
The left, and right upper doors are brought into contact with each other only with the gaskets on the upper doors without any other structures. Since provision of members to portions the gaskets are in contact is not possible for insulation, the portions the gaskets are in contact are weak in insulation.
Moreover, in general, a temperature inside of the refrigerating chamber closed with the upper doors is low in comparison to a temperature of the room where the refrigerator is installed, significantly.
Consequently, there is a substantial difference of temperatures between an inside, and an outside of the upper doors due to minute leakage of cold air between gaskets in contact with each other, or a temperature difference between an inside, and an outside of the refrigerating chamber, to cause vapor condensation at one side of the upper door exposed to an outside of the refrigerator, i.e., on surfaces the left, and right upper doors are close to each other, to result in complaint of the user.